quote:
Originally posted by Alcibiades:
I didn't realize they made an Excursion with a V10. WHY?!
I think the EPA mileage ratings are at 50 mph, which means the test is badly out of date. That is why most people never quite see the mpg stated on the sticker and advertisements.
SNIP
Why make an Excursion with a V10?
The question isn't why make it with a V10. At that weight, it isn't overpowered, even with that monster engine. The question is 'Why make an excursion,' and the buying public responded by saying 'No reason at all, so we're not buying it."
The PR/marketing guys thought there was a market, but it appeared to be the same size as the market for Ferrari Enzos, rather than what they had expected.
As far as the test speed goes, I'll say that my car can go 55 all day long on flat ground and beat its EPA highway mileage.
The only problem is, I don't get that gas mileage getting on the highway and I don't live on a highway on-ramp.
If I set my trip MPG gauge once I'm parked in the right lane on Interstate 77 with the cruise locked at 55, my two-way average is over my car's 30 MPG EPA highway rating.
The problem is the mile and a half of Akron area surface streets and traffic. As I leave work, going through a school zone and, two stop signs and three stop lights, I average 17 MPG on a good day and 12 on a really bad day. (It has 20 MPG city rating...)
I get similar mileage between my house and the highway, with one stop sign, two stop lights and one really steep and long on-ramp.
Thus, even with a 75% highway drive to work, I have no shot at making 30 MPG. But on level ground with the cruise at 55, I actually get 34 MPG. If I was on a cross-country trip in the midwest, I could get reasonably close to that.